Old Fashioned Roses for the English Cottage Garden

Without roses, the traditional English cottage garden would be incomplete. Roses grown over arbors, trellises and fences soften the garden and add the romance associated with this old-fashioned style.

Abundance of flowers is essential to the design. Much of that abundance should come from several varieties of roses. The gardener should consider roses that climb and ramble, as well as species roses and old shrub roses. Early hybrids could also be added as many were hybridized in the late 19th century.

Old-Fashioned Climbing Roses

The old cottage gardens of England were filled with climbing roses. They would be encouraged to climb up the walls of the house, either tied in to hooks or structural trellises. Arbors placed throughout the garden were covered with climbing roses. Some roses were trained to climb into trees. And other climbers were simply planted as stand-alone specimens in the lawn. The rose’s long canes would simply be left to flop around in the wind. This added to the relaxed nature of the cottage garden. Please read How to Train Climbing Roses for more information.

Among the most popular climbing roses of the Victorian period were Madame Alfred Carriere with its large white flowers, Sombreuil, Gloire de Dijon, and Zephirine Drouhin.

Old Fashioned Rambling Roses

Rambling roses easily soften fences, or can be planted on an unsightly hill and left to ramble down it like a waterfall. Some ramblers can also be placed to grow through trees and shrubs – a lovely way to add a bit of color to an evergreen hedge.

The most popular old-fashioned ramblers for the cottage garden may include the giant, Rambling Rector. Smaller ramblers often included Felicite et Perpetue, Alberic Barbier, May Queen and Albertine.

Species Roses for the Cottage Garden

Species or wild roses were happily brought into the cottage garden. Rosa Rubiginosa Englanteria, known commonly as Eglantine or Sweet Briar, was often used as hedging, especially in country gardens. Other beloved species roses included Rosa Multiflora, Rosa Gallica and Rosa Moschata. While the flowers are less refined, their merits are in their authentic simplicity, as they are not a cross between two roses.

Old Roses for the Cottage Garden

The list of old shrub roses is enormous, but include all the albas, gallicas, bourbons, musks, damasks, centifolias and moss roses. These are the main classifications of old roses.

Some popular old shrub roses found in cottage gardens include Charles de Mills, Gloire de France, Tuscany Superb, Tour de Malakoff and William Lobb.

Old-fashioned roses are easily found online. There are many nurseries that specialize in antique and old roses and some have thousands of roses listed in their online catalogs.

Old roses complete the garden and are an essential element to cottage garden design. The scent, variety and color of old roses fill the garden with romance.

For more information on adding old fashioned roses to the cottage garden please read the following articles.

• The New English Cottage Garden
• Scented Flowers for the English Cottage Garden
• Old Rose: Four Hardy Pink Roses for Gardens in Cold Climates
• American Pillar and Dorothy Perkins Roses: Pink Ramblers in Gardens

References

• Botanica’s Pocket Roses, Forward by William R. Grant, Whitecap Books, 2001
• Gardening With Old Roses, John Scarman, Harper Collins Publishers, 1996
• The Random House Book of Roses, Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix, Random House, 1988